Most liked posts in thread: Just How Bad Is This Squad?

Yesterday was just the latest in a long line of terrible performances during the last 3 years, spanning multiple managers and players. And the reason is simple; we’re systematically broken as a football club. It’s been patently obvious for a while, to most. And yet, when anything like that perspective is offered, certain individuals seek to take a higher ground and deride people for ‘moaning’, as though that’s somehow the cause of our regression, or a simple case of people being ‘fickle’, hiding behind keyboards.

The rot at this club is set deep and can’t be resolved easily or quickly.

The playing squad is nowhere near good enough, largely because our approach to scouting and recruitment is a shambles. We have no ambition or direction as a club, everything we do is reactionary. But I’ve reached a point of complete apathy - I wasn’t even angry watching that shower yesterday. It’s all too familiar and predictable, and the vast majority of the squad clearly aren’t good enough for League 2 football. I said it weeks ago, the Jacko squad - as bad as it was - was better than this one. Those that do have some ability, are being exposed by massive gaps in quality where its needed. For example, Staunton has some potential, but the defenders he’s playing alongside are garbage, lacking in anything like leadership qualities and his development will suffer as a result. We have a manager who has a record of not being able to deliver success at this level, we have an owner who’s completely absent, we have a CEO who doesn’t want to be here. Is it any wonder that we’re in such a mess? I can’t even be arsed analysing/rating anything from yesterday, because its just the surface of the problem. This club is in very real danger of going down this season. And we’d never recover from that.

 

Probably a fair assessment.

For me, this squad is worse than the one that got relegated from L1. At least we had some talented attackers in that group, even if they weren't capable of playing together. The attacking element of the current squad is pathetic and is national league north level at best.

In terms of the squad Parky inherited from Jacko and finished 18th with, this squad is worse. There were some absolute shockers in that squad but at least it had the likes of Davies, Oliver, Ravenhill, Reid, Hanson and Wells in it. It was a solid spine to build off. And all of the above were better than the current players in their positions.

 

Its clear to anyone who knows football that there were glaring omission in terms of certain positions yet nothing was done by McCall to strengthen those positions, priority being a dominant centre back, a striker to replace the outgoing Vaughan and not still not replaced Eoin Doyle and a central midfielder, effectively trying to create a strong spine for the team to build around.

Don't get me wrong, McCall was hampered somewhat by having three average centre backs already on the books and it wasn't his fault that Ismail and Donaldson had contract extensions in their favour. Neither was he helped by the previous January transfer window shambles. The problem though was further enhanced by bringing in players like Sutton and Evans, both who have attributes but its hard to work out why they were signed when the pressing need was for players in different positions to where Sutton and Evans play.

This club hasn't had a cohesive plan for over three years now, probably even back to the Parkinson days. We will continue to digress further until this problem is dealt with. Meanwhile, Rome burns and we look increasingly more likely to be in a relegation battle than a fight for the playoffs.

Remember, these cheap giveaway season tickets ain't gonna sell themselves on the back of this shitshow next season.

 

Ash Hunter has ability and pretty much ran the show yesterday, as did Darron Gibson in the same fixture last season. If you analyse that team yesterday man for man its no real surprise we got a good dicking. The only two players who have played any sort of games at a higher level are Evans and Donaldson, one who is unfit and no one knows what his best position is and another one whos legs have gone. The rest of the team made with youth players making their way in the games, players whos game tally is mainly non league and others who are barely league 2 standard. And we wonder why we are 19th in league 2? The problems are staring us in the face, some choose to ignore.

 

I'm a little bit worried that if I say anything nasty about the players I might have to explain my views "face to face".

Therefore all of the players are excellent, 10/10, with unblemished careers to this point and I am extremely lucky to watch them. Keep it up boys.

 

Mate,it's an extremely poor squad. We let Doyle and Vaughan go to end up with one of the worst strike force the club has seen.

I think your ratings are fair.

I would rate Sutton 5 (he's shite)
French is a 2

When I read this post then see a squad with an extremely poor manager that can go down to the non league.

 

With a defence who can't defend and a strike force who can't score there is only 1 way we getting out of this division and it could see the death of our club unless there are major changes in the club very soon

 

So to summarise, Rupp out.

 

Anthony O'Conner has looked pretty good going forward on that right side of the 3. Him and Hosanna down the right are pretty much the only thing that seems to be working.

 

Think it's time now that everyone understands the club has serious problems.

No, head in the sand! The warning signs have been there for years as you rightly say.

The club is failing badly

 

Hits the nail squarely on the head yet there are one or two who would say it’s mindless whinging, slurry or some other nonsense and demand we keep backing the club.

It’s not an over reaction to a defeat either, you’d say fair enough if a 3-0 defeat was out of character, like Liverpool at Villa or Man City at Leicester, but it’s not. Week in week out it’s poor and has been for nearly three years despite over 40 different players being used. The rot at the club is systemic.

 

I think the opening poster has the assesment pretty much there. I was watching the BT Vanarama NL lowlights this morning and what I saw would genuinely be cause for concern if we played those teams. Big strong physical players; usually big defenders across the back and a great outlet up front to bump the opposition around and run into the channels. Its rarely pretty but its effective and I think these types of teams would just out fight us. We dont have that character out on the pitch to get hold of the ball; keep their head and direct things. Bark out the orders and the bollockings !. Circa Stuart having to do all of that from the touch line himself !

I have gone on record that most of these players will have to leave the club before it can move forward. I have no idea what Stuart was implying yesterday when questioned he says "how many games have we left 30 is it; lets wait and see "? If that implies he thinks we will make play-offs as much as I will always stand by Stuart - its delusional.

This is an extremely limited group of players who would not be consistent in the National League. In many ways the players are getting away with it and Stuart & Kenny. They claim to want the fans back in Valley Parade ? But they must be thanking the high heavens we are not because there would be real venom raining down from those seats !. These players cannot play in front of a few staff & cardboard cut out fans ! Nevermind 15000 of us heaping scorn on their short comings ?

My own view is this; we have to let this play out. We not there game to game that actually should help the team to be fair. Theres nothing to be gained by Stuarts departure ? ; no one is better placed than him to take us this season of absolute nothingness. Defeat to Oldham in the Cup will consign 20-21 to the bin. We should have enough to stay out the bottom two ? Although we must not be complacent on that. Somewhere Stuart & Kenny have to find enough from this underwhelming assembly of the old; the new and the useless to keep our heads above water ?

Its no good calling for the like of Cook or the Cowleys or whoever. That will not change anything on the pitch. And why would they take the job ? It should be a great job to be manager of Bradford City but the FACT is that it is not. For that to change there must be real change behind the scenes. That means a change of owner (unlikely ?) or at least the departure of Julian Rhodes for a new CEO with a vision for the football club and vitally the playing management & staff. Alas that seems to be meandering on and that is no help to anyone.

All we can do is see out Covid Season 20-21; hopefully avoid further ignominy and pick up the pieces next season.

 

I keep reading comments like this, and find it odd because we have a clear example from our recent history where we were in a similar situation and a change of manager did change everything.

Because of the success of Parkinson's tenure I think people forget what a balls-up Lawn and Rhodes were making of running the club before he was appointed. Terrible managerial appointments, money spunked on Archie Christie and his development squad, and link ups with obscure Belgian football clubs, threats to wind the club up because the fans weren't grateful enough...

At this level a well organised team where everyone knows what they are doing and the right kind of personnel in terms of attitude and mentality in goes a long way, this comes from the right manager.

 

Sometimes I wonder if the club even had a plan then or was it actually Parkinson who set the stall out from the pitch and had the support of the owners.

 

Watching City games competely sober? You poor, poor man.

 

The defense is taking a lot of flack, but I find it difficult to truly judge them when we have a midfield that offers them absolutely no protection at all - teams just seem to waltz through us as if there is noone there. Watt, for all his qualities, offers the defensive protection of a chocolate fireguard.

The best teams defend as a team - we do not.

 

This squad is horrific.

What are its defining characteristics? We don't have a solid defence to rely on. We don't have pace to counter teams. We don't have physicality to bully teams and outfight them. We don't have a 20+ goal a season striker to rely on. We have nothing. I couldn't tell you what the USP of the squad is.

It's rudderless and without direction. It has a few reasonable individuals within it. But as a squad it is rancid.

 

Let’s face it, right now based on what we’ve seen in a city shirt we have 1-2 players of relatively decent quality that would be of interest to other clubs, and that’s Wood and Watt.

Then you have a few decent enough around them in Novak, Clarke and Cooke. Ismail has ability but fitness is an issue and is one of those who can be really impactful or frustrating as hell. Evans comes with a good career so far but we will have to wait to see if we experience that. A O’Conner is only good enough with quality around him. Personally I like Pritchard but not seen enough to convince me yet.

I won’t include Hosannah as he’s not ours and Staunton is still too early to judge despite a good start.

1-2 players to build a team around is incredibly alarming. As far more experienced professionals than I, I’d really like to understand what McCall and Black were looking at and planned at the beginning of the season when looking at the squad? Where did they see our strengths and opportunities? What element of our squad did they believe stood us in a stronger place than out competition? I ask, because despite as been optimistic as possible - I can’t see it?!?!